Richie Culver's work incorporates numerous social codes and imagery from the British working classes. The barbershops, the "free wifi" signs, Lady Diana and Jeremy Kyle.

You've told me before, that you needed distance to be able to work with the themes and imagery you do today. Can you talk about that distance and the importance of it? You are living in London with your family now, so the physical distance is naturally there, but I sense that the mental distance was just as important — and necessary — for you.

— I personally hate the class systems and what it represents. Especially in England. It’s like nowhere else really. Becoming a dad made me look slightly deeper into the subject as I now felt this would be a conversation at some point with my son, says Culver.

— Covering the subject gently through my work helps me gain some control on how I actually feel about the social climate in the UK.

Visit England, 2019
Oil & acrylic on wood
Dimensions variable

There are a lot of traces of your life in your paintings, specific references to a particular state of mind and place. Do you feel like all these different experiences you've lived have merged into one, or do you think there are still divergent and conflicting aspects battling it out in you?

— Yes, for sure. My work is autobiographical to a point although recently I’m steering more towards physical objects which naturally have a different language. I would not say it’s a battle. More like a light-hearted conversation.

«I would not say it’s a battle. More like a light-hearted conversation »

As a painter and sculptor, the studio is considered key to your creative output. Do you believe that you work best in a specific space dedicated to art? Is routine valuable to you?

— My studio is important as is the tidiness of it. When it’s too tidy, it becomes impossible to work. I seem to work best with limited objects or mediums at the moment.

What does home mean to you?

— Safety.

Exhibiting internationally has been a part of your career for a long time, and you've also spent time living abroad. Throughout your career, you've shown your work in both small gallery spaces and expansive kunsthalle style white cubes. How do you think where a picture is exhibited is impact the work?

Roadman Fossils, 2019
Cement and sports shoeDimensions variable

— Because of the looseness of my work the white cube space is always preferred. My work needs space to breathe. It can come across wrong in the wrong surroundings.

You recently had a son and is currently expecting another child. As a father, the work you are making now becomes part of your shared family history, something that will be there for a long time – relics of a specific time in life. Has this changed how you think about your work, how you go about creating it?

— It’s hard to explain. But what I can say is that my studio time is now rationed, which can be challenging.

What do you think art needs to do to age well?

Hair Cottage Barbers, 2018
Acrylic on canvas170x140cm

— Continue to ask questions perhaps … or to know instantly which artist it is maybe.

All the way from when we first met, your titles stood out as a significant part of the artwork. While your work has changed a lot, I still consider that the titles represent a substantial part of the artwork for you. Do you work with the titles separately, going along collecting titles along the way and then using them at a later point, or, now that your work is painterly and sculptural, do you poor over your titles to find a jumping off point for a new work?

«I just hear stuff. Usually hopeless sentences. Things I would hear on Jeremy Kyle or in the bookies. Old Middle England talk. I then rearrange and use them»

— Yes. Titles are a big part. I just hear stuff. Usually hopeless sentences. Things I would hear on Jeremy Kyle or in the bookies. Old Middle England talk. I then rearrange and use them, says Culver.

I think in some ways you can consider the title of a painting another invisible painting, a support of sorts, both encompassing and cradling the actual painting.

How much of your work do you think can be experienced with closed eyes? Can a lousy painting become a good one with a great title?

— Interesting question. Maybe yes. Perhaps a sculpture moreso though.

You used to work predominantly in monochrome, lots of black and grey photographs and paintings with just a few colours in them. Looking at your work now, you still favour quite a neutral background, but on top of that, a lot is going on. Blues, pinks, yellows – your work looks almost exuberant these days. Sometimes it reminds me of these leftovers we might see on the street in spots where poster after poster have been pasted up and pasted over again and again. How intentional was your shift towards colour?

— It had to happen. Because of the sometimes heavy themes, the softer palettes calm the conversation down.

We've spoken before about the ambitions of youth. You grew up in Hull, a working-class city where the football team is a prominent part of the identity, and visual arts is maybe less obvious a life and career path. Who were the heroes of your youth?

Contact

Mailing address

Sæter Jørgensen Contemporary
Møllegt. 36
4008 Stavanger
Norway
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